Video Games Plus Online Offering New Copies of Xenoblade Chronicles

“Possibly your last chance to own this RPG masterpiece.”

The Monolith Soft role playing game Xenoblade Chronicles has sparked no small amount of interest over the course of its existence. Wowing gamers with what the Wii was capable of in the right hands, the title soon became highly-anticipated in North America– which made Nintendo of America’s lack of plans to bring the title over following its success in Japan and Europe all the more crushing.

This led to the creation of “Operation Rainfall,” an effort to bring fans together (now a full-fledged gaming website) to convince Nintendo of America to bring this title (along with two others) to our shores. Whether it was the outpouring of support from fans or simply a part of some other strategy altogether, Nintendo did finally relent and released the game here.

However, the game did not see a widespread release. Instead, it was offered exclusively through GameStop in the United States and EB Games in Canada, as well as through Nintendo’s own website– unusual, given that they normally do not sell games directly there. Nonetheless, the retail-exclusivity combined with a relatively limited run wound up leading the already sought-after game to become even more desirable as the game’s accolades spread even further through word of mouth. As one might expect, this has led to the aftermarket price on previously-purchased copies to be driven up considerably.

That’s why it appears fortunate that, in some way or another, online Canadian video game retailer Video Games Plus Online has acquired some stock of the game. Not only do they have it in stock, but they claim to have it new. As seen in the ad at right, they state that the game comes “brand new factory sealed ‘Y’ wrapped,” and that this is “possibly your last chance to own this RPG masterpiece.”

Their asking price is $69.99 Canadian, a full $20 higher than the $49.99 the game originally retailed for. It seems to go for about that much new and used on eBay, though some sellers want considerably more– not to mention the need to contend with other bidders for the lower-priced copies. Interestingly enough, VGPlus’s own Amazon storefront is charging $20 more than their own website for some reason.

If you’re curious about what me (and my wife) thought about the game, you can check out my review here.